The Story on WUNC

Archived

Dick Gordon

The Story archived on WUNC.

Produced in the studios of WUNC, the program is hosted by Dick Gordon. The Story offers an hour of stories, five days a week. The show begins with a long form conversation with host Dick Gordon; some days we are linked to the news and other days we mix it up; if a person has a great story to tell we might give them most of the show, another show might have 5-6 segments.

Education

4:15 pm

Mon February 3, 2014

Over the course of 13 years, Joe Brewster and Michele Stephenson filmed their son's progress through the elite New York City prep school called Dalton. As an African-American family in a predominantly white school, the years were challenging for everyone.

Fri October 11, 2013

In the last show of WUNC's The Story, we check in with guests who came on the program at moments when their lives were in transition.

When Deyanira Chavez was first on the show, she’d come to the United States from Mexico, undocumented, and was about to begin studying architecture in college. Today, after much difficulty, we find her back in Mexico.

The Story

2:27 pm

Thu October 10, 2013

Mohammed El Kurd grew up in the East Jerusalem house where his family has lived for more than 50 years. In 2009, a group of Israeli settlers moved into a building on the property, claiming it as their own. Host Dick Gordon speaks to Mohammed and to a settler, Yaakov Fauci, to explore their relationship to the soil they share.

Also in this show: Playing the trumpet helped Jack Tueller get through a rough childhood, get through World War II – and meet his wife.

The Story

3:10 pm

Wed October 9, 2013

When Michael Humphrey was growing up, he would sometimes hear his father telling strangers a story about how the Beatles stole a song he wrote. People would almost always be confused and bewildered – and Michael would wish he weren’t there. “It didn’t matter to me whether it was true or not. It was just embarrassing that something so outrageous was being said,” he remembers. In this conversation, Humphrey tells host Dick Gordon how he eventually looked into his father’s claim that the Beatles stole the composition for “Lady Madonna.” Humphrey interviewed his father, and set out to find sheet music and anyone close to Paul McCartney who would speak to him.

The Story

2:53 pm

Tue October 8, 2013

Nate Kalichman was 90 and Paula Givan was 67 when they got married. Sit with them and it seems like their love is brand new and like they’ve been married for years. In this 2012 conversation with host Dick Gordon, they share their stories of finding love late in life and making plans.

The Story

5:31 pm

Mon October 7, 2013

When Yafinceio Harris and Michael Wilder were growing up in a tough neighborhood of Kalamazoo, Mich., they were members of rivaling crews that often came close to armed confrontation. Once, Harris, also known as "Big B," followed Wilder, known as "Too Short," and almost killed him in a street fight. They both spent time in prison, and eventually had a meeting neither expected – in the classroom of a community college.

The Story

1:42 pm

Thu October 3, 2013

The Ganges, the 1,500-mile river flowing through Northern India, is one of the holiest yet most polluted places in the country. It is a place where people pray, and a place where people wash and bathe. Producer Phoebe Judge travels to the city of Varanasi, on the river’s left bank, where she meets people who live along the Ganges and want to clean it up the sewage that pours into it every day.

Tue October 1, 2013

Joe Williams was a 20-year-old looking for adventure on his first day working at Glacier National Park when he and a friend spotted a female grizzly bear. Williams got tangled with the bear, getting mauled and fighting back, while his friend was able to run for help. Williams recounts the event to host Dick Gordon in this conversation and explains what the event has come to mean to him in the years since.

Luci Baines Johnson was a teenager in 1963 when President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed and her father, Lyndon Johnson, was thrust into the presidency. That year, the family moved into the White House, and Luci was fully aware of the tragic reason for their move. In this conversation with host Dick Gordon, she talks about the day she became the first daughter.